News in Brief:A Washington's Roundup

E.D. Releases Guidance About Charter Schools

If employees of charter schools or any outside management companies
that run them serve on the schools' boards of directors, they must
avoid any "real or apparent conflict of interest" if the school
receives money from the Department of Education's charter school
program, under new guidelines released late last month.

If employees of charter schools or any outside management companies
that run them serve on the schools' boards of directors, they must
avoid any "real or apparent conflict of interest" if the school
receives money from the Department of Education's charter school
program, under new guidelines released late last month.

Prohibited conflicts of interest and changes wrought in the
nine-year-old, $198.7 million grant program by the No Child Left Behind
Act are among the new topics covered in the nonregulatory guidance.

The guidance also tackles such topics as what role churches and
other religious organizations can play in charter schools; how to
conduct admissions lotteries; and how much grant money states can keep
for overhead.

Dean Kern, the program's director, said the new conflict-of-interest
section was prompted in part by concerns about employees of education
management companies serving on the boards of charter schools with
which the companies have contracts.

—Caroline Hendrie

Ex-Department Employee Sentenced in Theft Scheme

A former Department of Education employee has been sentenced to 41/2
years in prison for her role in a scheme to bilk the department of more
than $1 million in computers and telecommunications equipment.

Elizabeth C. Mellen, a former telecommunications specialist in the
department, pleaded guilty last year to charges of theft and conspiracy
in connection with a scheme that involved six members of her family and
others. She was sentenced Aug. 5 by U.S. District Judge Emmet G.
Sullivan of Washington.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Ms. Mellen and others conspired
with representatives of a telecommunications contractor at the
department to order computers, telephones, digital cameras, and other
goods at government expense for their personal use. ("Seven More Sign Guilty Pleas in Ed.
Agency Fraud Case," Feb. 6, 2002.)

Court documents said Ms. Mellen had employees of Bell Atlantic, now
known as Verizon Communications Inc., perform work at her relatives'
homes, then submit bills for false overtime to the Education
Department. Ms. Mellen's lawyer, William Brennan, could not be reached
for comment.

—Sean Cavanagh

Rights Office Issues Letter On Campus Free Speech

The Department of Education's office for civil rights has issued a
letter to college administrators stating that its anti-discrimination
policies are not meant to restrict free speech on campus, but to shield
students from acts that could be deemed offensive.

Mr. Reynolds wrote that while some campus officials have interpreted
OCR anti-harassment policies as barring all offensive speech pertaining
to race, sex, and disability, "OCR's regulations are not intended to
restrict the exercise of any expressive activities protected under the
U.S. Constitution."

Greg C. Lukianoff, a spokesman for the Philadelphia-based Foundation
for Individual Rights in Education, hailed the letter as "a new day" in
helping to rid campuses of stringent anti-harassment policies that have
resulted in "speech codes."

—Sean Cavanagh

Vol. 23, Issue 1, Page 35

Published in Print: September 3, 2003, as News in Brief:
A Washington's Roundup

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